1. Field of Invention
The invention relates to a language tool that provides the word that corresponds to a definition.
2. Description of the Related Art
The complexity of languages creates unique challenges when trying to describe concepts. One complication that frequently occurs during a writing assignment is the inability to recall a word that describes the meaning the author is trying to convey. It is also likely that an author may be sure that there is a word to describe a concept but is unfamiliar with the term. Regardless of whether the word was forgotten or unknown, the end result is the same. The inability to find the desired word results in the author having to resort to the use of another word, which may have a similar meaning but lack the desired connotation, or having to rephrase the passage to obviate the need to use the unrecalled word, which may interrupt the flow or change the comprehension level of the passage.
Prior art solutions to the problem of identifying an unknown word include books such as the reverse dictionary and the thesaurus. Both are useful tools but are limited in there usefulness due to their non-interactive nature. With a thesaurus, the user looks for a word that shares a similar meaning with the word being sought. The thesaurus provides a list of synonyms or antonyms for the user to consider. Thus, use of a thesaurus presumes that the user can identify a word that will lead to the discovery of the unknown word.
With a reverse dictionary, the user is afforded a more general starting point. The user starts with a clue that relates to the word being sought. Instead of being limited to synonyms and antonyms, the reverse dictionary clue words are familiar words that have been selected to guide the user to related concepts. For example, starting with a clue word like “football” might lead a user to related concepts such as terminology for equipment, part of the field, player positions, or activities occurring in a football game. While this approach is certainly broader than the thesaurus concept, it does not direct the user to a specific word being sought. The quality of a reverse dictionary search relies heavily on the ease and quality of the clue words selected by the searcher.
In addition to the general prior art discussed above, U.S. Patent Application Publication 2006/10160594A1, filed by Kevin Brase and published on Jul. 20, 2006, discloses an interactive deduction game. The interactive deduction game asks a limited number of questions having yes/no/maybe/sometimes answers to attempt to identify an object.
U.S. Pat. No. 5,649,221 issued to H. Vance Crawford, et al., on Jul. 15, 1997, describes a reverse electronic dictionary using synonyms to expand search capabilities. The '221 patent describes a reverse electronic dictionary where a thesaurus is cross-referenced to dictionary entries by numeric codes to provide greater flexibility when performing searches of the reverse electronic dictionary.
There is a need for a device that provides a more directed approach to locating an unknown or forgotten word based on knowledge of the meaning of the word. A directed approach would obtain many relevant clue words, ranging from general to specific, for use in the search rather than relying on selection of a single useful clue word as is typical when using a thesaurus or a reverse dictionary.